Improvement in railway-track gages



P. S. PRENDERGAST. Railway-Track Gage.

No. 220,415. Patented Oct. 7, 1879.

WITNESSES INVENTOR N PETERS, FHOTO-UTNOGRAPNHI, WASNINGTON, D10.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIoE.

FELIX S. PRENDERGAST, OF SAVANNAH, GEORGIA.

I MPROVEMENT IN RAILWAY-TRACK GAGES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent N0. 220,4] 5, dated October 7, 1879; application filed June 16, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FELIX S. PRENDER- GAs'r, of Savanuah,in the county of Ohatham and State of Georgia, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Track-Gages, of which the following is a specification.

Figure 1 is a top View of two forms of my improved gage, shown as applied to a railroad-track. Fig. 2 is a side view of one of the gages, the track being shown in cross-section. Fig. 3 is an under-side View of one of the gages. Fig. 4 is an under-side view of the other gage.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

The object of this invention is to furnish an improved gage for determining the distance apart of the rails of a railroad-track, and which shall be so constructed as to give the correct gage distance, even when the gage-board may not be at right angles with the rails, and which at the same time shall be simple in construction and convenient in use.

The invention consists in a trackgage formed of a gage-board having a segment of a circle attached to it nearone end, and a segment of a circle or equivalent knife-edge attached to it near the other end, as hereinafter fully described.

A represents the gage-board, which is made .of a'lengtha little greater than the required distance apart of the rails, and of such a breadth and thickness as will give it sufficient stiffness without being inconvenient to handle.

one end, is attached a segment, B, of a circle, in such a position that one of its radii, preferably the center one, may be parallel with the central line of the gage-board A.

To the under side of the gage-board A, near gage-board A is laid upon the rails with the arcs of the segments B 0 against the inner sides of the said rails the points of the said segments in contact with the said rails will always be the ends of the diameter at right angles to the said rails, the rails being tangent to the circle at the said points of contact.

When the knife-edgeD is used, the segment B should be a part of the circle of which the said knife-edge is the center, so that when the knife-edge D rests against the side of one rail, and the arc of the segment B against the side of the other rail, the contact-points will always be at the ends of the radius at right angles with the two rails.

With this construction the gage distances will always be the same, whether the gageboard be laid at right angles with the rails or at an oblique angle with them.

Having thus described in y invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent A railroad-track gage consisting of the board A, having segments B G on the under side and near the ends, as and for the purpose specified.

FELIX STANISLAUS PRENDERGAST.

Witnesses:

A. S. DELANNOY, W. W. DOWELL. 

